Crochet VS Knitting …. You chose one or the other, right? I think most of us do. My Mom is a knitter. I am a crocheter. But… my grandmother was both! She knit socks and mittens right through her last years. Everyone in the family loved getting Nana socks.
She also crocheted sweet baby outfits. I have no doubt she was making these back in the sixties when my Mother started her family and she continued to make them right up until my son was born. What a lovely pattern. There is a hat and booties, too. I feel so lucky that I have several of these sets that I will get to pass on to my own grandchildren someday.
When I decided to learn how to crochet, I was expecting my son and wanted to make him things. My girlfriend and I decided to take a class on a Friday night and I was hooked. (pardon the pun) I have grown a lot in my abilities and have made some really fun projects over the years. I was feeling just fine about it until my Mom through a monkey wrench into things and gave me her collection of knitting needles.
She was moving into a new condo at the time so she was getting rid of stuff. I said to her, “Welllll … I will take them and hold onto them for you. You can get them back any time you like.”
My Mom is an amazing knitter. She makes things like this hooded sweater:
I know, right? I grew up with her knitting Lopi Sweaters in Aran wools in Nova Scotia.
Gorgeous. Intimidating. I have her knitting needles.
Every time I went into my sewing room, there they were. So many of them. Small, medium, large; short, tall, aluminium in pretty colours, pearly plastic ones – they were enticing. I started having flashbacks of learning how to knit 1 purl 1.
At the time, I was fiddling around with the super tiny crochet hook to make lacey things.
When it was time to block the snowflake I just made, I came up with an excuse to not do the blocking; I have to pick up those wooden knitting needles and see if I can remember how to cast-on.
It’s amazing how it all comes back to you when you have those needles in your hands. I have seen the knitting on Etsy. So many beautiful big cowls with that signature “knitted” look you can only get if you learn how to Tunisian Crochet. I don’t know how to do a Tunisian crochet stitch. But I know how to knit 1 purl 1. So, I gave it a whirl.
This is actually knit 1 row, purl 1 row. Fun! For some reason, picking up the knitting needles has made me want to try super chunky knitting and crochet. Maybe it’s a re-bound from the teeny, lacey stuff I have been crocheting. The biggest needles in my Mom’s collection are 10 mm, which is nice and big. But they come bigger. #christmaslist
I went out and found an S hook so I can crochet chunky cowls.
And that’s not even the smallest hook I have.
So, I am not only growing my skill set, and the size of my tools, but my pile of WIPs, too….
i n t e r e s t i n g f a c t
Did you know some of the earliest knitted socks were from Egypt?
http://blog.berroco.com/2013/09/24/emily-explains-some-fun-knitting-facts/